Closure for jars or vessels.



'G. STAUNTON.

CLOSURE FOR JARS OR VESSELS. APPLICATION FILED MAY 13, 1905.

Patented Sept. 14, 1909.

- (541] jMl i GRAY STAUNTON,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0

WILLIAM S. POTWIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CLOSURE FOR JARS 0R VESSELS.

Specification of t a t Patented Sept. ii 4,1909.

Application filed May 13, 1905. Serial No. 260,220.

' ful Improvements in Closures for Jars or Vessels; and I hereby declarethat the fol-- lowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to new and improved means for hermetically sealingjars, bottles and other receptacles, for the preservation of fruitstuffs, beverages, liquids, paints, varnishes, etc.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved, simple andpractical means for sealing a receptacle after the air has beenpartially exhausted therefrom, and an additional means for retaining theclosure in place after the sealing has been accomplished. r'

Another object of my invention is the provision of a means-whereby thevalve,- covering the vent, is protected, to prevent accidental unseatingor tapering, by a valve seal, that must be destroyed before the valve sunseated in the process of opening the re-,

ceptacle, to preserve the evidence of the integrity' of the contents ofthe original package. I h

Other objects of my invention will become apparent to those persons whoare skilled in the art from the following description taken inconjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings; Figure 1 is an elevation in cross-section of areceptacle with theolosure in position, and a broken away portion of anair exhaust pump for exhaust ng the air from the receptacle and therebysealing the same. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the valve shown in section inFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a broken away portion of the closure showing amodificatiop of the valve and recess in which the valve is inclosed.Fig. 4 is a plan view of the-same.

In all of the views the same'letters of refer'ence indicate similarparts.

1 is a receptacle, in the illustration it is a jar, having an outwardlyflaring or inwardly tapering opening 2 in whichthe closure is Isociation with the closure when the latter is adapted to be contained,Of course the up per end of the receptacle could be contracted and theopening could be much smaller, as in a bottle, and the closure made tocome" preserving food-stuffs and the like.

spond with the same without departing from the gist and spirit of myinvention.

3 is a closure, a plate or cap preferably made of glass so that thecontents of tha receptacle, which may also be made of glass, will bevisible at all points through the walls, and as providing the mostsanitary material for the purpose of containing and closure is providedwith a tapering surface 4 which corresponds substantially with the taper2 provided in the opening of the receptacle.

material, such as the ring 5, of rubber, illustrated, may be retained inposition around the annulus. This ring forms a packing between thesurfaces 2 and 4 when the closure is in position.- It is not essentialthat the closure should be precisely placed in POSlw tion, as one sidemay be tilted more than the other and not interfere with the proper TheI The surface 4 contains a groove' in which a ring of elastic orcompressible operation of the device. This is one of the advantagespossessed by this means of closing the jar.

surface of the closure or cap 3','for containing the valve 7. The Valve7' is preferably -made of a disk of very elastic rubber, or

similar material having a depending neck ortion 7 which passes throughthe vent 6 in the closure, and which carries, on its extended end, anenlargement 8, preferably of the same material of which the valve iscomposed, and adapted to be compressed so it may be easily passedthrough the vent (5, but of such shape or form that it may not be easilywithdrawn through the vent 6-without considerable ditliculty, therebyproviding a means by which bodily movement of the 5 1s a countersunkdepression, belowthe valve 7 is permitted and by which it isconveniently retained in association with the closure 3. I prefer thatthe parts 7 and 8 should be made of yielding, soft rubber so that thevalve'm a-y be easily put into posltion and be. removed when it becomesnecessary to cleanse the closure and .the valve, which may be moreeasily done by removing the valve, as when the receptacle is to be usedagain. This arrangement also provides a means for the retention of thevalve in ,as-

removed from the receptacle. The .vent or perforation 6, hn igh th p t Pmeans of the air pump 10, in the process of exhausting the receptacle.It will be noticed that the surface in the bottom of the recess tapersradially toward the vent 6-in *all directions, thus providing a seat ofthe v tom of the depression 5 thereby securing greater strength owing tothe arch shape form of the part at the point where the closure is cutaway by the depression 5.

When the cap 3 is'placed in position on the jar 1, as shown in Fig. 1 ofthe drawing, and after the jar has been exhausted by means of the airpump 10, a strip 9 of paper, fabric, thin metal or other means may beplaced in position in association with the jar 1 and the cap 3 forretaining the said cap in place after it has found its seat in theprocess of exhausting the receptacle. The retainer 9 may be used or not,as desired, as a means for reinforcing the vacuum effect to maintain theseal. If a fabric or paper is used it may be glued to the surfacespresented as shown in the drawings, or if a metallic strip is employedfor this purpose it may be attached in any suitable manner for holdingthe closure in the position it has assumed in the process ofhermetically sealing the jar. This is a feature which is not essentlalto my invention but it is advantageous as an additional means formaintaining pump 10 and the top of the said cap.

is shown to be simply a disk contained in In Fig. 3 the modification ofthe valve 7 the receptacle 5, which is provided with overhangingpieces 5that are adapted to retain the valve 7 in position to prevent itsaccidental removal. The valve, being elastic, may be pressed betweenthese overhanging pieces into the chamber 5, after which it willstraighten out and assume the disk form shown in Fig. 3.

The operation of the device is as follows; After the packing ring 5 hasbeen placed in position in the groove around the taperingsurface 4 ofthe closure 3, and after' the receptacle 1 has been filled, or partiallyfilled, with the material to be preserved, or con- ,and the walls of thevessel 1.

tained therein, the closure 3 is placed over the opening in the saidreceptacle, the air exhaust pump 10 is then placed in the position shownin Fig. 1 and it is operated to draw the air from the interior of thevessel 1. In the process 'of exhaustion the valve 7 is bodily raised andbetween the impulses produced by the pump, it is alternately raised andseated over the aperture 6, there being suflicient room in the aperture6, between the shank'? and the valve 7 and said aperture, for the escapeof air, the part 8 being in the form of a cross, or other convenientshape, so as to prevent this. part, or attachment, to the valve fromentirely closing the aperture 6 when the ,valve is in its raisedposition, will permit the air to espumping out the air the ring5 willbecome h more and more compressed and will be forced into a constantlydecreasing aperture,

due to the tapering walls 2, and thereby provide an air tight ointbetween the closure'3 in pressure between the exterior and interior ofthe vessel will also cause the valve 7 to be firmly seated over theaperture 6 and thereby firmly close the vent through which the vesselwas exhausted. After the vessel The difference has been completelyexhausted, in the manncr described, the retainer 9, of suitablecharacter, may be employed in association with the vessel 1 and the cap3 to retain the cap in substantially the position it has assumed, as aresult of the difference in pressure, in the process of hermeticallysealing the vessel. After the vessel has'been completely sealed a seal12, such as a gummed disk or the like, may be pasted on the top of thecap 3 and over the valve 7 to protect it,

and thereby provide evidence of the fact that thejar or vessel has notbeen opened and its contents disturbed. In order to open thevesseLforthe purpose of obtaining the contents of or a part of the contentsthereof,

"all that is necessary to do is-first to remove or break the seal 12,which maybe ofsome arbltrary character containing a trade mark or anyprivate'mark of the packer, and then receptacle maybe easily'remove'd byfirst removing the clamp or retainer 9, which may I be used to retainthe cap in the proper asso- ,ciation with the vessel 1, and thenremoving the cap or closure. When proper exhaustion has been effectedpractically all of the mospheric pressure to an extent approaching 15pounds per square inch, and it has been demonstrated by practice thatthis issuflicient to hold the cap in place against-ordinary usage. Itwill also be understood that the atmosphere and the oxygen thereof beingpractically all removed from the interior of the package or vessel, thecontents will be better preserved as a result of the absence of oxygen.

Qne of the advantages possessed by the use of my means of sealing thejar or package is the fact that part of the contents may be.

used and the package rescaled in the manner heretofore described, andthe remaining part of the contents will be preserved with practicallythe same degree of certainty as it would have been if the package hadnot been opened. Another advantage of the device is that it may be usedtime and again without destroying or at all injuring or damaging any ofthe parts that become necessary to the hermetic sealing of the same,

Having thus described my invention, what .I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent, of the United States, is; I 1. In combination with areceptacle having an outwardly flaring opening, a closure inwardlytapering and having an air vent .therein, a yielding packing mediumbetween said taperingsurfaces, a valve for'said air vent, and means forretaining said valve normally in association with the closure arrangedto leave the valve free for bodily.

movement to close or open the vent, and to permit detachment of thevalve from the closure. i

2. In combination with a receptacle, a closure having a vent openingtherein, a packing interposed between the receptacle and the closure, avalve for the vent opening and means for normally retaining said valvein association with the closure, arranged to permit free bodily movementof the valve to close and open the vent, and to permit removal of thevalve from association with the closure.

3. In combination, a receptacle, a closure, having an air vent, a valveadapted to close the vent when the receptacle is exhausted,

and a means to permit the bodily movement of the valve and to normallyretain it in association with said closure, adapted to permit readyremoval of the valve.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I afiix my signaturein presence of ztWO witnesses. 1

GRAY STAUNTON. Iu presence of- Four'm BAJN, -MARY F. ALLEN:

